Have socioeconomic determinants of national suicide rates changed over 20 years? A model averaging approach

Abstract

We aim to identify how relative importance of potential drivers of national suicide rates has changed over time. We apply statistical model averaging techniques to a dataset that covers 25 potential suicide determinants for 172 countries over 20 years. Our application of the weighted average least squares (WALS) approach indicates that some inferences are unstable across time. Suicide determinants related to religious affiliations tend to become less important in recent years. The opposite is true for non-educational measures of human capital, such as life expectancy at age 65, and labour market variables, such as unemployment. Our analysis sheds some light on the differential effects of potential suicide determinants on male and female suicidality and their evolution over time.